Story By: Jonathan Macias, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
This frontline COVID medic says she has been fired after asking to be tested for the disease in a Colombian hospital.
Doctor Alejandra Dulcey Mejia says she was dismissed from the Bosque de Maria hospital in the city of Barranquilla in the capital district of Atlantico Department in northern Colombia.
According to local media, Dulcey Mejia got the sack when she requested to be tested for COVID-19 and asked the hospital where she worked who would pay for health professionals’ treatments if they became infected during their fight against the virus.
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Dulcey Mejia said on social media: “I was dismissed on the 17th of this month because I asked the hospital where I worked for my colleagues and me to be tested for COVID-19 as all the medical staff had contact with the last patient who died in Barranquilla.”
She added: “In my case, there were no complaints from the hospital, no process initiated or patient complaints, it was after I requested to be tested and asked who would pay for the treatment if doctors got infected that they sent me a letter of dismissal.”
Reports said that Dulcey Mejia is a member of the Committee of United Doctors for Colombia and she is aware of the complaints of several doctors who had not received personal protective equipment to carry out their work.
The Director of the local health service MiRed I.P.S Martha Rodriguez told local media: “In order to protect the lives of medical staff who are in direct contact with COVID-19 patients we test them to dismiss contagion and we never deny this procedure to them.”
It is unclear if the doctor has taken legal actions against the health service.
Local media reported that several residents in Colombian cities including Medellin, Cali, Bucaramanga, Barranquilla, Bogota and Cartagena have banged pots and pans from their balconies in a show of protest at the lack of protective equipment in hospitals.
According to local media, there have been 4,149 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 196 deaths in Colombia.
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